Tuncurry Breakwall • Statistics for January

January: A Month of Trade-Wind Slop

January is the heart of the Australian summer, and at Tuncurry the breath of the north-easterly trades is almost constant. The dominant wind directions are NNE and NE, together accounting for 37.4 percent of all observations, with a good chunk blowing 20-30kph-enough to put a serious texture on the surface. On the swell side, the NE/E window is alive: around 48 percent of the waves come from NNE, NE, ENE and E, and the average swell height is 5.6ft (1.7m), with most waves in the 3-6ft (1-1.8m) range. The catch is that the sea breeze and synoptic flow are onshore for most of the month; only 16 percent of the wind is ideal. The 8.4s average period means most of this is short-period, windswell-driven surf-punchy but not very powerful. Water temperature sits at 23.1°C and air temps average 23.8°C, so all you need is a board shorts wetsuit. Look for early mornings before the seabreeze fills, or a fleeting SW change.